How Sad: Mayor's dogs shot in raid.

[cmayer31]

From AP, Associated Press

Md. mayor wants probe into raid at his home

2 hours ago

BERWYN HEIGHTS, Md. (AP) — The mayor of a small town outside Washington says he's asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate a county police raid on his home during which his dogs were killed.

Cheye Calvo says it's too early to talk about seeking monetary damages.

Authorities raided Calvo's home after intercepting a package shipped to his wife that was filled with 32 pounds of marijuana last week. During the raid, law enforcement officers broke down Calvo's door and shot and killed the family's two dogs.

Prince George Police Chief Melvin High says Calvo and his family were "most likely ... innocent victims," of a drug smuggling scheme in which packages were shipped to unknowing recipients and intercepted. Authorities have said they killed the dogs because they felt threatened.

The AP has an undated picture of the mayor holding his wife's hand and walking his two labs, Chase and Payton. They're such a happy family and now both dogs are dead, shot by their own police force. I hope they find the drug smugglers that sent the package that was intercepted.

So sad for the two labbies. RIP Chase and Payton.

[lizbud]

How horrible. Just saw this on MSNBC too. A little more detail on this.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26079096/


This seems like a major screw up by the county. I hardly think this couple,
being as prominent in the community as they were, had anything to do with
these drugs. And the poor dogs.

[RICHARD]

Oh, SORRY!

IF they were police dogs would the story be different?

You betcha.

[lizbud]

The FBI is now involved in investigating what happened & why. Here's
a article and video of the Mayor talking about what these experience
was like when the county cops broke into his house & shot his dogs.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/08/...ml#cnnSTCVideo

[IRescue452]

Seems pretty typical of police officers. Unfortunately. Nobody is policing the police.

[chocolatepuppy]

Seems pretty typical of police officers. Unfortunately. Nobody is policing the police.

My thoughts exactly. That's the reason my dogs were rushed into the house anytime a cop came near the crackhouse next door. (it's empty now) I feared if they ran up and down the fence the cops might shoot them. I also worried that a raid at the wrong house, mine, could have got my dogs shot.
It happened in the next town a few years back, cops raided a drug house and shot the neighbors dog in their backyard and it was CHAINED!!!
How awful for this poor family and their dogs. May they both Rest in Peace. I'd be willing to bet money these 'cops' will not be brought to justice. No matter, the dogs are dead, no bringing them back.

[ramanth]

How sickening.

[Catty1]

The latest article said the officers felt threatened...and one of the Labs was shot "as he was running away."

Uh - huh.....

[Catty1]

(Link to the forum at Cato Institute below - video or podcast)

http://wjz.com/local/cheye.calvo.2.816614.html

Mayor Calvo Speaks On Police Raid Of His Home

Alex DeMetrick
BERWYN HEIGHTS, Md. (WJZ) ― The actions of police officers and a controversial raid at a Maryland mayor's home came back into the spotlight Friday night.

Alex DeMetrick reports the mayor of Berwyn Heights and his mother-in-law were tied up, and his two dogs were shot and killed.

SWAT teams in any jurisdiction look much the same--heavy armor and heavy firepower--but they don't always act the same.

That's the opinion of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo who shared his story at a talk at the Cato Institute in Washington.

Calvo's family was traumatized, his dogs shot to death, when Prince George's County police raided his home in a drug raid. It was all a mistake.

Researchers aren't sure how often that happens, and Calvo thinks police mistakes need airing.

"When you don't correct mistakes, they fester, they grow, and you develop a culture of cover-up and lies that ultimately lead to major mistakes that cause real and lasting suffering to people," said Calvo.

While police apologized to Calvo for the mistake, it still took the mayor, along with state political pressure, 10 days to clear his name.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5268

Should No-Knock Police Raids be Rare-or Routine?

POLICY FORUM
Thursday, September 11, 2008
4:00 PM (Reception To Follow)

Featuring Cheye Calvo, Mayor, Berwyn Heights, Maryland, Radley Balko, Senior Writer, Reason and author of Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America, Peter Christ, Co-founder, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Moderated by Tim Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute.

The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
tv Watch the Event in Real Video
ipodDownload a Podcast of the Event (MP3)

The Prince George’s County police department is under fire for a recent drug raid on the home of Berwyn Heights mayor Cheye Calvo. Unbeknownst to Calvo, a box containing marijuana was delivered to his home. Shortly thereafter, police officers kicked in the front door and shot both of Calvo’s pet Labrador retrievers. The police have subsequently cleared Calvo of any wrongdoing but are unapologetic about their raid tactics. Are no-knock, paramilitary raids an appropriate tactic for drug investigations? Or do sudden, unannounced entries bring unnecessary violence to police investigations? Join us for a discussion of the Prince George’s incident and, more broadly, the militarization of police work in America.

[RICHARD]

At the beginning of the year here in Lost Angeles a SWAT cop and his buddy were shot after they went into a home after a suspect who was barricaded inside.

They city, PD and all people concerned were falling all over each other trying to praise the 'hero' who was killed. They glazed over the fact that they went into the home without any plan or thought as to what the situation entailed- If I remember correctly they were there less than .5 hours. Just enough time to get suited up and load a gun.

All across the country these kind of storiues come to light-Why? Because there are too many cowboys-emphasis on boys-who go in locked and loaded.

Again, the old standby, 'I had reason to believe my life was in danger/he had a weapon/the suspect made a suspicious move....." will serve as an excuse for shooting anything that looks at cops in a malicious way.

9 times out of 10 a barking dog is just that, a barking dog....

But then again I can see where a cop would mistake a retreiver for a dangerous dog.....like a pomeranian or a pug. It happens everyday!

[Catty1]

Someone had planted a marijuana package on the mayor's front step, perhaps for another contact to pick up. Cops saw it at the wrong time...